Muhammad Iqbal

Muhammad Iqbal

Sir Mohammad Iqbal

Full name Muhammad Iqbal

November 9, 1877
Born
Sialkot, Punjab, British India

April 21, 1938 (aged 60)

Died
Lahore, Punjab, British India

Era Modern era

Region Islamic Philosophy

School Sufism, Islam

Main interests poetry, philosophy, sufism.

Sir Muhammad Iqbal; November 9, 1877, Sialkot – April 21, 1938, Lahore) was a Persian- and
Urdu-language poet, philosopher and politician.[1] He is commonly referred to as Allama Iqbal (
‫عالمہ اقبال‬, Allama meaning "Scholar").
After studying in Cambridge, Munich and Heidelberg, Iqbal established a law practice, but
concentrated primarily on writing scholarly works on politics, economics, ishi history,
philosophy and religion. He is best known for his poetic works, including Asrar-e-Khudi—for
which he was knighted— Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, and the Bang-e-Dara, with its enduring patriotic
song Tarana-e-Hind. In India, he is widely regarded for the patriotic song, Saare Jahan Se
Achcha. In Afghanistan and Iran, where he is known as Eghbāl-e-Lāhoorī (‫ اقبال الہوری‬Iqbal of
Lahore), he is highly regarded for his Persian works.
Iqbal was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation across
the world, but specifically in South Asia; a series of famous lectures he delivered to this effect
were published as The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. One of the most prominent
leaders of the All India Muslim League, Iqbal encouraged the creation of a "state in northwestern
India for Muslims" in his 1930 presidential address. [2] Iqbal encouraged and worked closely with
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and he is known as Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Thinker of Pakistan"),
Shair-e-Mashriq ("The Poet of the East"), and Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of Ummah"). He is
officially recognized as the national poet of Pakistan.[3][4][5] The anniversary of his birth (‫وم‬N‫ی‬
‫ والدت محمد اقبال‬- Yōm-e Welādat-e Muḥammad Iqbāl) is on November 9, and is a national
holiday in Pakistan.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Photo gallery
3 Literary career
3.1 Works in Persian
3.2 Works in Urdu
4 Political career
4.1 Revival of Islamic polity
5 Patron of The Journal Tolu-e-Islam
6 Relationship with Muhammad Ali
Jinnah
7 Final years & death
8 Influence and legacy
9 Legacy in India
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
Early life
See also: Timeline of Muhammad Iqbal's life
Allama Iqbal was born in Sialkot, Punjab, British India; the eldest of five siblings in a Kashmiri
Shaikh family.[6][7] Iqbal's father Shaikh Nur Muhammad was a prosperous tailor, well-known for
his strong devotion to Islam, and the family raised their children with deep religious grounding.
His grandfather Sahaj Ram Sapru was a Kashmiri Pandit from Srinagar who converted to Islam
with his family, adopting the Muslim name of Shaikh Muhammad Rafiq in the process. After
conversion, he moved with his family to Sialkot in the west of Punjab.
Iqbal was educated initially by tutors in languages and writing, history, poetry and religion. His
potential as a poet and writer was recognised by one of his tutors, Sayyid Mir Hassan, and Iqbal
would continue to study under him at the Scotch Mission College in Sialkot. The student became
proficient in several languages and the skill of writing prose and poetry, and graduated in 1892.
Following custom, at the age of 15 Iqbal's family arranged for him to be married to Karim Bibi,
the daughter of an affluent physician Khan Bahadar Dr. Sheikh Ata Mohammad,Raees-e-Azam
of Gujrat(Punjab). The couple had two children: a daughter, Mi'raj Begam (born 1895) and a
son, Aftab (born 1899). Iqbal's third son died soon after birth. The husband and wife were
unhappy in their marriage and eventually separated in 1916.
Iqbal entered the Government College in Lahore where he studied philosophy, English literature
and Arabic and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating cum laude. He won a gold medal
for topping his examination in philosophy. While studying for his masters degree, Iqbal came
under the wing of Sir Thomas Arnold, a scholar of Islam and modern philosophy at the college.
Arnold exposed the young man to Western culture and ideas, and served as a bridge for Iqbal
between the ideas of East and West. Iqbal was appointed to a readership in Arabic at the Oriental
College in Lahore, and he published his first book in Urdu, The Science of Economics in 1903. In
1905 Iqbal published the patriotic song, Tarana-e-Hind (Song of India).
At Sir Thomas's encouragement, Iqbal travelled to and spent many years studying in Europe. He
obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College at Cambridge in 1907, while
simultaneously studying law at Lincoln's Inn, from where he qualified as a barrister in 1908.
Iqbal also met a Muslim student, Atiyah Faizi in 1907, and had a close relationship with her. In
Europe, he started writing his poetry in Persian as well. Throughout his life, Iqbal would prefer
writing in Persian as he believed it allowed him to fully express philosophical concepts, and it
gave him a wider audience. [1] It was while in England that he first participated in politics.
Following the formation of the All-India Muslim League in 1906, Iqbal was elected to the
executive committee of its British chapter in 1908. Together with two other politicians, Syed
Hassan Bilgrami and Syed Ameer Ali, Iqbal sat on the subcommittee which drafted the
constitution of the League. Working under the supervision of Friedrich Hommel, Iqbal published
a thesis titled: The Development of Metaphysics in Persia.[8]
Photo gallery

Literary career
Upon his return to India in 1908, Iqbal took up assistant professorship at the Government
College in Lahore, but for financial reasons he relinquished it within a year to practice law.
During this period, Iqbal's personal life was in turmoil. He divorced Karim Bibi in 1916, but
provided financial support to her and their children for the rest of his life.
While maintaining his legal practice, Iqbal began concentrating on spiritual and religious
subjects, and publishing poetry and literary works. He became active in the Anjuman-e-Himayat-
e-Islam, a congress of Muslim intellectuals, writers and poets as well as politicians, and in 1919
became the general secretary of the organisation. Iqbal's thoughts in his work primarily focused
on the spiritual direction and development of human society, centred around experiences from
his travel and stay in Western Europe and the Middle East. He was profoundly influenced by
Western philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson and Goethe, and soon became
a strong critic of Western society's separation of religion from state and what he perceived as its
obsession with materialist pursuits.
The poetry and philosophy of Mawlana Rumi bore the deepest influence on Iqbal's mind. Deeply
grounded in religion since childhood, Iqbal would begin intensely concentrating on the study of
Islam, the culture and history of Islamic civilization and its political future, and embrace Rumi as
"his guide." Iqbal would feature Rumi in the role of a guide in many of his poems, and his works
focused on reminding his readers of the past glories of Islamic civilization, and delivering a
message of a pure, spiritual focus on Islam as a source for socio-political liberation and
greatness. Iqbal denounced political divisions within and amongst Muslim nations, and
frequently alluded to and spoke in terms of the global Muslim community, or the Ummah.[4]
Works in Persian
Iqbal's poetic works are written mostly in Persian rather than Urdu. Among his 12,000 verses of
poem, about 7,000 verses are in Persian. In 1915, he published his first collection of poetry, the
Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self) in Persian. The poems emphasise the spirit and self from a
religious, spiritual perspective. Many critics have called this Iqbal's finest poetic work [9] In
Asrar-e-Khudi, Iqbal has explained his philosophy of "Khudi," or "Self." Iqbal' s use of term
"Khudi" is synonymous with the word of "Rooh" as mentioned in the Quran. "Rooh" is that
divine spark which is present in every human being and was present in Adam for which God
ordered all of the angels to prostrate in front of Adam. But one has to make a great journey of
transformation to realize that divine spark which Iqbal calls "Khudi". A similitude of this journey
could be understood by the relationship of fragrance and seed. Every seed has the potential for
fragrance with in it. But to reach its fragrance the seed must go through all the different changes
and stages. First breaking out of its shell. Then breaking the ground to come into the light
developing roots at the same time. Then fighting against the elements to develop leaves and
flowers. Finally reaching its pinnacle by attaining the fragrance that was hidden with in it. Same
way to reach one's khudi or rooh one needs to go through multiple stages which Iqbal himself
went through and encourages other to travel this spiritual path. Like not all seeds reach the level
of fragrance, many die along the way incomplete. Same way only few people could climb this
mount Everest of spirituality, most get consumed along the way by materialism. The same
concept was used by Farid ud Din Attar in his "Mantaq-ul-Tair". He proves by various means
that the whole universe obeys the will of the "Self." Iqbal condemns self-destruction. For him the
aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He charts the stages through which the "Self"
has to pass before finally arriving at its point of perfection, enabling the knower of the "Self" to
become the viceregent of God.[4]
In his Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (Hints of Selflessness), Iqbal seeks to prove that Islamic way of life is
the best code of conduct for a nation's viability. A person must keep his individual characteristics
intact but once this is achieved he should sacrifice his personal ambitions for the needs of the
nation. Man cannot realise the "Self" out of society. Also in Persian and published in 1917, this
group of poems has as its main themes the ideal community, Islamic ethical and social principles
and the relationship between the individual and society. Although he is true throughout to Islam,
Iqbal recognises also the positive analogous aspects of other religions. The Rumuz-e-Bekhudi
complements the emphasis on the self in the Asrar-e-Khudi and the two collections are often put
in the same volume under the title Asrar-e-Rumuz (Hinting Secrets), and it is addressed to the
world's Muslims. Iqbal sees the individual and his community as reflections of each other. The
individual needs to be strengthened before he can be integrated into the community, whose
development in turn depends on the preservation of the communal ego. It is through contact with
others that an ego learns to accept the limitations of its own freedom and the meaning of love.
Muslim communities must ensure order in life and must therefore preserve their communal
tradition. It is in this context that Iqbal sees the vital role of women, who as mothers are directly
responsible for inculcating values in their children.
Iqbal's 1924 publication, the Payam-e-Mashriq (The Message of the East) is closely connected to
the West-östlicher Diwan by the famous German poet Goethe. Goethe bemoaned that the West
had become too materialistic in outlook and expected that the East would provide a message of
hope that would resuscitate spiritual values. Iqbal styles his work as a reminder to the West of
the importance of morality, religion and civilization by underlining the need for cultivating
feeling, ardour and dynamism. He explains that an individual could never aspire for higher
dimensions unless he learns of the nature of spirituality. [4] In his first visit to Afghanistan, he
presented his book "Payam-e Mashreq" to King Amanullah Khan in which he admired the liberal
movements of Afghanistan against the British Empire. In 1933, he was officially invited to
Afghanistan to join the meetings regarding the establishment of Kabul University.

Iqbal in 1929, with his son Javid Iqbal.

The Zabur-e-Ajam (Persian Psalms), published in 1927, includes the poems Gulshan-e-Raz-e-
Jadeed (Garden of New Secrets) and Bandagi Nama (Book of Slavery). In Gulshan-e-Raz-e-
Jadeed, Iqbal first poses questions, then answers them with the help of ancient and modern
insight and shows how it effects and concerns the world of action. Bandagi Nama denounces
slavery by attempting to explain the spirit behind the fine arts of enslaved societies. Here as in
other books, Iqbal insists on remembering the past, doing well in the present and preparing for
the future, emphasising love, enthusiasm and energy to fill the ideal life. [4] Iqbal's 1932 work, the
Javed Nama (Book of Javed) is named after and in a manner addressed to his son, who is
featured in the poems, and follows the examples of the works of Ibn Arabi and Dante's The
Divine Comedy, through mystical and exaggerated depiction across time. Iqbal depicts himself as
Zinda Rud ("A stream full of life") guided by Rumi, "the master," through various heavens and
spheres, and has the honour of approaching divinity and coming in contact with divine
illuminations. In a passage re-living a historical period, Iqbal condemns the Muslim traitors who
were instrumental in the defeat and death of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal and Tipu Sultan of
Mysore respectively by betraying them for the benefit of the British colonists, and thus
delivering their country to the shackles of slavery. At the end, by addressing his son Javid, he
speaks to the young people at large, and provides guidance to the "new generation."[4]
His love to Persian language is evident in his works and poetry. He says in one of his poems:[10]
garche Urdū dar uzūbat shakar ast
lék Pārsī-am ze Hindī shīrīntar ast
Translation:
Even though in sweetness Urdu* is sugar - (but) My Persian is sweeter than Hindi*
Works in Urdu
Iqbal in Spain, 1933.
Iqbal's first work published in Urdu, the Bang-e-Dara (The Call of the Marching Bell) of 1924,
was a collection of poetry written by him in three distinct phases of his life. [4] The poems he
wrote up to 1905, the year Iqbal left for England imbibe patriotism and imagery of landscape,
and includes the Tarana-e-Hind (The Song of India), popularly known as Saare Jahan Se
Achcha and another poem Tarana-e-Milli (Anthem of the (Muslim) Community), which was
composed in the same metre and rhyme scheme as Saare Jahan Se Achcha. The second set of
poems date from between 1905 and 1908 when Iqbal studied in Europe and dwell upon the
nature of European society, which he emphasized had lost spiritual and religious values. This
inspired Iqbal to write poems on the historical and cultural heritage of Islamic culture and
Muslim people, not from an Indian but a global perspective. Iqbal urges the global community of
Muslims, addressed as the Ummah to define personal, social and political existence by the values
and teachings of Islam. Poems such as Tulu'i Islam (Dawn of Islam) and Khizr-e-Rah (Guide of
the Path) are especially acclaimed.
Iqbal preferred to work mainly in Persian for a predominant period of his career, but after 1930,
his works were mainly in Urdu. The works of this period were often specifically directed at the
Muslim masses of India, with an even stronger emphasis on Islam, and Muslim spiritual and
political reawakening. Published in 1935, the Bal-e-Jibril (Wings of Gabriel) is considered by
many critics as the finest of Iqbal's Urdu poetry, and was inspired by his visit to Spain, where he
visited the monuments and legacy of the kingdom of the Moors. It consists of ghazals, poems,
quatrains, epigrams and carries a strong sense religious passion.[4]
The Pas Cheh Bayed Kard ai Aqwam-e-Sharq (What are we to do, O Nations of the East?)
includes the poem Musafir (Traveller). Again, Iqbal depicts Rumi as a character and an
exposition of the mysteries of Islamic laws and Sufi perceptions is given. Iqbal laments the
dissension and disunity among the Indian Muslims as well as Muslim nations. Musafir is an
account of one of Iqbal's journeys to Afghanistan, in which the Pashtun people are counseled to
learn the "secret of Islam" and to "build up the self" within themselves. [4] Iqbal's final work was
the Armughan-e-Hijaz (The Gift of Hijaz), published posthumously in 1938. The first part
contains quatrains in Persian, and the second part contains some poems and epigrams in Urdu.
The Persian quatrains convey the impression as though the poet is travelling through the Hijaz in
his imagination. Profundity of ideas and intensity of passion are the salient features of these short
poems. The Urdu portion of the book contains some categorical criticism of the intellectual
movements and social and political revolutions of the modern age.b
Political career

Iqbal with Muslim political activists

While dividing his time between law and poetry, Iqbal had remained active in the Muslim
League. He supported Indian involvement in World War I, as well as the Khilafat movement and
remained in close touch with Muslim political leaders such as Maulana Mohammad Ali and
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was a critic of the mainstream Indian National Congress, which he
regarded as dominated by Hindus and was disappointed with the League when during the 1920s,
it was absorbed in factional divides between the pro-British group led by Sir Muhammad Shafi
and the centrist group led by Jinnah.
In November 1926, with the encouragement of friends and supporters, Iqbal contested for a seat
in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from the Muslim district of Lahore, and defeated his
opponent by a margin of 3,177 votes. [11] He supported the constitutional proposals presented by
Jinnah with the aim of guaranteeing Muslim political rights and influence in a coalition with the
Congress, and worked with the Aga Khan and other Muslim leaders to mend the factional
divisions and achieve unity in the Muslim League.
Revival of Islamic polity
Iqbal's second book in English, the Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, is a collection
of his six lectures which he delivered at Madras, Hyderabad and Aligarh; first published as a
collection in Lahore, in 1930. These lectures dwell on the role of Islam as a religion as well as a
political and legal philosophy in the modern age. In these lectures Iqbal firmly rejects the
political attitudes and conduct of Muslim politicians, whom he saw as morally misguided,
attached to power and without any standing with Muslim masses. Iqbal expressed fears that not
only would secularism weaken the spiritual foundations of Islam and Muslim society, but that
India's Hindu-majority population would crowd out Muslim heritage, culture and political
influence. In his travels to Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, he promoted ideas of greater
Islamic political co-operation and unity, calling for the shedding of nationalist differences. He
also speculated on different political arrangements to guarantee Muslim political power; in a
dialogue with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Iqbal expressed his desire to see Indian provinces as
autonomous units under the direct control of the British government and with no central Indian
government. He envisaged autonomous Muslim provinces in India. Under one Indian union he
feared for Muslims, who would suffer in many respects especially with regard to their
existentially separate entity as Muslims.[11] Sir Muhammad Iqbal was elected president of the
Muslim League in 1930 at its session in Allahabad, in the United Provinces as well as for the
session in Lahore in 1932. In his presidential address on December 29, 1930, Iqbal outlined a
vision of an independent state for Muslim-majority provinces in northwestern India:
Iqbal with Choudhary Rahmat Ali and other Muslim activists
"I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan
amalgamated into a single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the
British Empire, the formation of a consolidated Northwest Indian Muslim state appears to me to
be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of Northwest India."[2]
In his speech, Iqbal emphasised that unlike Christianity, Islam came with "legal concepts" with
"civic significance," with its "religious ideals" considered as inseparable from social order:
"therefore, the construction of a policy on national lines, if it means a displacement of the
Islamic principle of solidarity, is simply unthinkable to a Muslim." [12] Iqbal thus stressed not only
the need for the political unity of Muslim communities, but the undesirability of blending the
Muslim population into a wider society not based on Islamic principles. He thus became the first
politician to articulate what would become known as the Two-Nation Theory — that Muslims are
a distinct nation and thus deserve political independence from other regions and communities of
India. However, he would not elucidate or specify if his ideal Islamic state would construe a
theocracy, even as he rejected secularism and nationalism. The latter part of Iqbal's life was
concentrated on political activity. He would travel across Europe and West Asia to garner
political and financial support for the League, and he reiterated his ideas in his 1932 address, and
during the Third Round-Table Conference, he opposed the Congress and proposals for transfer of
power without considerable autonomy or independence for Muslim provinces. He would serve as
president of the Punjab Muslim League, and would deliver speeches and publish articles in an
attempt to rally Muslims across India as a single political entity. Iqbal consistently criticised
feudal classes in Punjab as well as Muslim politicians averse to the League.
Evaluating the contribution of Iqbal to the creation of Pakistan and modernization of Islam writes
Sailen Debnath, “The concept of Islamic nationalism was theorized by Mohammad Iqbal. A
philosopher and poet, Iqbal blended Islamic philosophy with the classical and modern
philosophy of the West. He brought Islam at the door of modernism even retaining its catholicity
and purity and worked out an ideological paradigm of pan-Islamism and Islamic nationalism in
India. Since 1905 till his death, Iqbal built the philosophical bedrock for the establishment of
Pakistan on the subtlety of argument, romanticism and dynamism. He met with no serious
challenge of the kind from the Congress. He had no peers in the Muslim League; therefore, all its
leaders followed his theory and philosophy without any contradiction. Thus Muslim
communalism got a philosophy and secularism was engraved. On the basis of humanity and
equality, Iqbal took Islam to be the best religion of the world. He supported Islamic state, culture
and nationalism inevitably complementary to one another for the growth of pan-Islamism or
Islamic internationalism. For greater and broader unity and brother- hood among the Muslims in
pursuance of the Quran, Iqbal rejected blood-relationship as the basis of human unity. He
asserted Islam as the inner force of Islamic brotherhood. Thus his theory brought together the
majority of the Muslims from Bengal to the North Western frontier provinces, and this made the
Indian Muslims to feel their identity with … Islam …and this in course of time paved the path to
the creation of Pakistan”. (Ref. Sailen Debnath, Secularism: Western and Indian, ISBN
9788126913664, Atlantic Publishers, New Delhi).

Patron of The Journal Tolu-e-Islam

The First Journal of Tolu-e-Islam

He was also the first patron of the historical, political, religious, cultural journal of Muslims of
British India and Pakistan. This journal played an important part in the Pakistan movement. The
name of this journal is The Journal Tolu-e-Islam. In 1935, according to his instructions, Syed
Nazeer Niazi initiated and edited, a journal Tolu-e-Islam [13] named after the famous poem of Sir
Muhammad Iqbal, Tulu'i Islam. He also dedicated the first edition of this journal to Sir
Muhammad Iqbal. For a long time Sir Muhammad Iqbal wanted a journal to propagate his ideas
and the aims and objective of Muslim league. It was Syed Nazeer Niazi, a close friend of him
and a regular visitor to him during his last two years, who started this journal. He also made
Urdu translation of The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, by Sir Muhammad Iqbal.
The page of First Journal of Tolu-e-Islam in which Syed Nazeer dedicated this journal to Sir
Iqbal
In the first monthly journal of Oct. 1935, an article "Millat Islamia Hind" The Muslim nation of
India was published. In this article Syed Nazeer Niazi described the political conditions of
British India and the aims and objective of Muslim community. He also discussed the basic
principles of Islam which were aims and objective of Sir Muhammad Iqbal' concept of an
Islamic State.
The early contributors to this journal were eminent Muslim scholars like Maulana Aslam
Jairajpuri, Ghulam Ahmed Pervez, Dr. Zakir Hussain Khan, Syed Naseer Ahmed, Raja Hassan
Akhtar, Maulvi Ghulam Yezdani, Ragheb Ahsan, Sheikh Suraj ul Haq, Rafee ud din Peer, Prof.
fazal ud din Qureshi, Agha Muhammad Safdar, Asad Multani, Dr. Tasadaq Hussain, Prof. Yusuf
Saleem Chisti.
Afterward, this journal was continued [14] by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez,who had already contributed
many articles in the early editions of this journal. After the emergence of Pakistan, the mission of
the journal Tolu-e-Islam was to propagate the implementation of the principle which had
inspired the demand for separate Muslim State according to the Quran. This journal is still
published by Idara Tolu-e-Islam, Lahore.
Relationship with Muhammad Ali Jinnah
See also: Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Final years
Ideologically separated from Congress Muslim leaders, Iqbal had also been disillusioned with
the politicians of the Muslim League owing to the factional conflict that plagued the League in
the 1920s. Discontent with factional leaders like Sir Muhammad Shafi and Sir Fazl-ur-Rahman,
Iqbal came to believe that only Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a political leader capable of
preserving this unity and fulfilling the League's objectives on Muslim political empowerment.
Building a strong, personal correspondence with Jinnah, Iqbal was an influential force on
convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London, return to India and take charge of the
League. Iqbal firmly believed that Jinnah was the only leader capable of drawing Indian Muslims
to the League and maintaining party unity before the British and the Congress:
"I know you are a busy man but I do hope you won't mind my writing to you often, as you are
the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has right to look up for safe guidance
through the storm which is coming to North-West India and, perhaps, to the whole of India."[15]
There were significant differences between the two men — while Iqbal believed that Islam was
the source of government and society, Jinnah was a believer in secular government and had laid
out a secular vision for Pakistan where religion would have "nothing to do with the business of
the state."[16] Iqbal had backed the Khilafat struggle; Jinnah had dismissed it as "religious
frenzy." And while Iqbal espoused the idea of Muslim-majority provinces in 1930, Jinnah would
continue to hold talks with the Congress through the decade and only officially embraced the
goal of Pakistan in 1940. Some historians postulate that Jinnah always remained hopeful for an
agreement with the Congress and never fully desired the independence of India. [17] Iqbal's close
correspondence with Jinnah is speculated by some historians as having been responsible for
Jinnah's embrace of the idea of Pakistan.[18] Iqbal elucidated to Jinnah his vision of a separate
Muslim state in a letter sent on June 21, 1937:
"A separate federation of Muslim Provinces, reformed on the lines I have suggested above, is the
only course by which we can secure a peaceful India and save Muslims from the domination of
Non-Muslims. Why should not the Muslims of North-West India and Bengal be considered as
nations entitled to self-determination just as other nations in India and outside India are."[11]
Iqbal, serving as president of the Punjab Muslim League, criticised Jinnah's political actions,
including a political agreement with Punjabi leader Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan, whom Iqbal saw as
a representative of feudal classes and not committed to Islam as the core political philosophy.
Nevertheless, Iqbal worked constantly to encourage Muslim leaders and masses to support
Jinnah and the League. Speaking about the political future of Muslims in India, Iqbal said:
"There is only one way out. Muslims should strengthen Jinnah's hands. They should join the
Muslim League. Indian question, as is now being solved, can be countered by our united front
against both the Hindus and the English. Without it, our demands are not going to be accepted.
People say our demands smack of communalism. This is sheer propaganda. These demands
relate to the defense of our national existence.... The united front can be formed under the
leadership of the Muslim League. And the Muslim League can succeed only on account of
Jinnah. Now none but Jinnah is capable of leading the Muslims."[15]
Final years & death
Tomb of Muhammad Iqbal at the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque.
In 1933, after returning from a trip to Spain and Afghanistan, Iqbal began suffering from a
mysterious throat illness.[19] He spent his final years helping Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan establish
the Dar ul Islam Trust Institute at the latter's Jamalpur estate near Pathankot, an institution where
studies in classical Islam and contemporary social science would be subsidised, and advocating
the demand for an independent Muslim state.[20] Iqbal ceased practising law in 1934 and he was
granted pension by the Nawab of Bhopal. After suffering for months from his illness, Iqbal died
in Lahore in 1938. His tomb is located in Hazuri Bagh, the enclosed garden between the entrance
of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort, and official guards are maintained there by the
Government of Pakistan.
Iqbal is commemorated widely in Pakistan, where he is regarded as the ideological founder of
the state. His Tarana-e-Hind is a song that is widely used in India as a patriotic song speaking of
communal harmony. His birthday is annually commemorated in Pakistan as Iqbal Day, a national
holiday. Iqbal is the namesake of many public institutions, including the Allama Iqbal Medical
College, Allama Iqbal Open University and the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore.
Government and public organizations have sponsored the establishment of colleges and schools
dedicated to Iqbal, and have established the Iqbal Academy to research, teach and preserve the
works, literature and philosophy of Iqbal. His son Javid Iqbal has served as a justice on the
Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Influence and legacy

Street named in Iqbal's honour in Heidelberg, Germany.

If we are resolved to describe Islam as a system of superior values, we are obliged, first of all, to
acknowledge that we are not the true representatives of Islam.
—Muhammad Iqbal[21]
Allama Iqbal's poetry has also been translated into several European languages where his works
were famous during the early part of the 20th century.[citation needed]
Legacy in India
 Iqbal's poem Saare Jahan Se Achcha has remained popular in India for over a century. Mahatma
Gandhi is said to have sung it over a hundred times when he was imprisoned at Yerawada Jail in
Pune in the 1930s.[22] The poem was set to music in the 1950s by sitar maestro Ravi Shankar and
recorded by singer Lata Mangeshkar. Stanzas (1), (3), (4), and (6) of the song became an
unofficial national anthem in India,[23] and were also turned into the official quick march of the
Indian Armed Forces.[24] Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian cosmonaut, employed the first line of
the song in 1984 to describe to then prime minister Indira Gandhi how India appeared from outer
space.[25] Current prime minister, Manmohan Singh, quoted the poem at his first press
conference.[23]
Notes
1. ^ a b Bhatti, Anil (28 June 2006). "Iqbal and Goethe" (PDF). Yearbook of the Goethe Society of
India. http://www.goethezeitportal.de/fileadmin/PDF/db/wiss/goethe/bhatti_iqbal.pdf. Retrieved 2006-06-
28.
2. ^ a b "Sir Muhammad Iqbal’s 1930 Presidential Address". Speeches, Writings, and Statements of
Iqbal. http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_iqbal_1930.html. Retrieved 2006-
12-19.
3. ^ "Pakistan - MSN Encarta". Pakistan - MSN Encarta.
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560851_4/pakistan.html.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Allama Iqbal - Biography - Iqbal's Works" (PHP). 26 May 2006.
http://www.allamaiqbal.com/person/biography/biotxtread.html. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
5. ^ "Education: Allama Iqbal- Is he still relevant?". Chowk. 2007-06-21.
http://www.chowk.com/articles/12038. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
6. ^ "Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal - an Ideologist, a Poet-Philosopher and a Spiritualist" (PHP).
Pakistan Times. 9 November 2004. http://pakistantimes.net/2004/11/09/specialreport.htm. Retrieved
2009-06-28.
7. ^ (Kak 1995)
8. ^ Iqbal's "Development of Metaphysics in Persia" PhD thesis
9. ^ Official website, Allama Iqbal Academy. ""Asrar-e-Khudi"". http://www.allamaiqbal.com.
Retrieved 2006-05-30.
10. ^ Kuliyat Iqbal, Iqbal Academy Publications, 1990, Lahore, Pakistan
11. ^ a b c "Allama Iqbal - Biography - Iqbal and Politics" (PHP). 26 May 2006.
http://www.allamaiqbal.com/person/biography/biotxtread.html. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
12. ^ Naipaul, V. S.. Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples. pp. 250–52.
13. ^ http://www.tolueislam.com/Urdu/mag/1935/1935_Oct.djvu
14. ^ "Urdu Articles and Books". Tolueislam.com. http://www.tolueislam.com/Urdu/urdu.htm.
Retrieved 2010-05-22.
15. ^ a b Iqbal and Pakistan Movement
16. ^ Official website, Government of Pakistan. ""The Governor General"".
http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/Quaid/governor_g.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-20.
17. ^ Ayesha Jalal, The Sole Spokesman, pp. 14
18. ^ Official website, Government of Pakistan. ""The Statesman: Allama Iqbal's Presidential
Address at Allahabad 1930"". http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/Quaid/politician13.htm. Retrieved 2006-04-20.
19. ^ Schimmel, Annemarie (1962). Gabriel's Wing. Brill Archive. p. 55.
http://books.google.co.uk/books?
id=goE3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA153&dq=Muhammad+Iqbal+illness&lr=&as_brr=3#PPA55,M1.
20. ^ "Allama Iqbal". Sunni-news.net. http://www.sunni-news.net/en/articles.aspx?
selected_article_no=6842. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
21. ^ Quranic Research Group, Not Reform, but Return to the Quran
22. ^ Times of India: Saare Jahan Se..., it's 100 now
23. ^ a b Pritchett, Frances. 2000. "Tarana-e-Hindi and Taranah-e-Milli: A Study in Contrasts."
Columbia University Department of South Asian Studies.
24. ^ Indian Military Marches.
25. ^ India Empowered to Me Is: Saare Jahan Se Achcha, the home of world citizens
References
Main article: Iqbal bibliography
 Jalal, Ayesha (1994). The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for
Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45850-1.
 Kak, Ram Nath (1995). Autumn Leaves: Kashmiri Reminiscences. Vitasta, India.
ISBN 8186588000. http://www.koausa.org/Books/AutumnLeaves.
 Mir, Mustansir. Iqbal. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-84511-094-3.
 Munawwar, M. Iqbal-Poet Philosopher of Islam. ISBN 969-416-061-8.
 Sailen Debnath, Secularism: Western and Indian, ISBN 9788126913664, Atlantic Publishers,
New Delhi
 Naipaul, V. S. (1998). Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples. Random
House Inc., USA. ISBN 0-375-50118-5.
 Iqbal's Contribution To Persian Poetry And Thought in The Twentieth Century by R M
Chopra in Indo-Iranica, Vol. Fiftyfive (1 to 4).
A translation, commentary and literary appreciation of Masnavi Pas Cheh Bayad kard and
Musafir in Urdu by Dr Elahi Bakhsh Akhtar Awan was published by University Book Agency
Khyber Bazaar Peshawar Pakistan in 1960
Controversy: Many of writers believe on his sufi-ism and poetry which is living in the heart of
the peoples, but as far as Pakistan mufiqar is concerned, there was no link with it, because in the
same time, Indian athum is written by him: Saray Jahan se acha Hindustan Hamara......
External links
 Official Website of Allama Iqbal by Iqbal Academy Pakistan
 Official Website of Dr. Allama Muhamamd Iqbal by Nazaria-i-Pakistan Trust
 Official Website of Dr. Iqbal Society of North America
 A Blog on Allama Iqbal's Works
 Iqbal and His Times
 Brief Life Sketch of Allama Muhammad Iqbal
 Iqbals Awakening
 The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam
 Biography of Iqbal Lahuri
 Video's on Iqbaliyat
 Muhammad Iqbal at Kavita Kosh (Iqbal's poetry in Hindi font)
 Allama Iqbal Digital Library
 Allama Muhammad Iqbal aur Muslim Leaque
 Allama Iqbal Day , 132nd birth anniversary
 http://www.allamaiqbal.com/ias/iqbalspoetryfaisalhanif.html Official Website of Allama
Iqbal Academy Scandinavia
Find more about Muhammad Iqbal on Wikipedia's sister projects:
Definitions from Wiktionary
Textbooks from Wikibooks
 Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
Learning resources from Wikiversity
 Allama Iqbal site
 Dr. Allama Iqbal-The Innovator
 some of his best Urdu poems from Columbia university site
 Works of Iqbal in simlepk site
 search Kalame Iqbal with difficult words
 Reconstruction Of Religious Thought In Islam by Allama Iqbal
 Works by Muhammad Iqbal
 http://pakistaniat.com/2007/03/22/pakistan-day-jinnah-mohammad-iqbal-allama-sir-dr-
doctor-poetry-march-23/
 Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal - Poet of the East
 [1] I Desire (With English Translation)by Qazi Muhammad Ahkam
 Muhammad Iqbal: A Spiritual Bridge between East and West Qantara.de

SHAKWA AND JAWAB-I SHAKWA(THE COMPLAINT AND

RESPONSE TO THE COMPLAINT)
BY DR. SIR MUHAMMAD IQBAL

Iqbal wrote the two poems, “Shakwa” and “Jawab-i Shakwa” (Complaint to
God and its Response), in early twentieth century. It was the prime time of
his poetic revelation, which is called his third period that began in 1908 and
ended at his death in 1938. During that time Muslims in India had almost lost
their entity as a nation. They had become the most oppressed community in
British ruled India. A little before Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-1898)
had realised that the major cause of Indian Muslims’ misfortune was their
illiteracy and the lack of knowledge. After a long struggle and much hardship
he succeeded in establishing an Anglo Oriental College at Aligarh which later
on became a university. Presently this university is a big place of learning
and research in India. This university became a source of self-awareness
among a negligible portion of Muslim minority in India. However, the
masses of the community remained deprived of education and ultimately
remained suffering  in all parts of life. Due to poverty and lack of resources
they were unable to educate their children. Among those who were lucky and
got education remained unable to get a job. They remained jobless as all the
fields of life and key posts were occupied and dominated by non-Muslims
and the British. Such a situation gave birth to the persons like Altaf Husain
Hali, Shibli Nomani, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Ali Brethren, and others who
worked in their respective fields to fight for the rights of Muslims. All of
them were contemporaries of Iqbal and were among the front-line fighters for
freedom. However Iqbal stood alone with his powerful poetic way to waken
self confidence in the people of his community. He and his contemporaries
(named above) were able to move the masses and carried them forward on
the road to get rid of the British rule. Iqbal nurtured the minds of the people
and changed the direction of the society through his melodious voice reciting
his own songs in a touching way reminding them of their past glory. He was
the person who discovered a leader like Muhammad Ali Jinnah and
convinced him to lead the nation under whose banner Muslims of India were
united and marched towards independence till the world saw a new country
“Pakistan” emerged on the world map with the rising sum of the morning of
August 14, 1947.
Iqbal’s poem “Shakwa” was one of his most thrilling poems, which he recited
personally in the month of April 1911 at the annual session of Anjuman
Himayat-i Islam held in the compound of Islamia College, Lahore. It was
largely applauded and subsequently published in the magazines and journals
of the country. This poem consists of 31 stanzas having six verses each. In
the poem Iqbal has highlighted Islam’s living traditions in such a way that it
strikes the very heart of a person.  The carefully selected and well-knit words
of the poem were immensely effective. They filled the hearts of a deprived
nation with new life, courage and enthusiasm. The poem “Shakwa” is a
unique example of a complaint to God. We have used English translation
from Dr. M.A.K. Khalil’s Call of the Marching Bell, which is English
rendering of Iqbal’s Bang-i Dara.
In the first stage of this poem Iqbal counts the chivalrous deeds of the
Muslims reminding them of their past glory when they happened to be the
leaders and teachers of mankind. They implemented the rule of God on the
earth and brought revolutionary reforms in the states under their control
where justice prevailed. Hereunder I quote three stanzas from this part of 
“Shakwa”:
Ham jo jeetey thay to jangon ki museebat ke liye
Aur marte thay tirey naam ke azmat ke liye
Thi na kuch tegh zani apnee hukumat key liye
Sar bakaf phirte thay kiya dhar men daulat ke liye?
Qaum apni jo zaro-maal-i jahan par marti
But faroshi ke iwaz but shikani kiyum karti?

(If we lived we lived for the calamities of wars

If we died we died for the grandeur of Thy name
We did not wield the sword for our kingdoms
Did we roam about the world fearlessly for wealth?
If our nation had been greedy of worldly wealth
Why would we have been idol breakers instead of idol sellers?)

Mahfil-i kaun-o Makan men sahar-o sham phiray

Ma-i tauheed ko ley kar sifat-i jam phiray
Koh men’ dasht mey ley kar tira paigham phiray
Aur maaloom hay tujh ko kabhi nakaam phiray
Dasht to dasht hain darya bhi na chorey hamnay
Bahr-i zulmaat men daura diy-e ghorey hamnay

(We continuously  wandered all over the world

We wandered like the wine cup with Tawhid’s[1] wine
We wandered with Thy message in the mountains, in the deserts
And doth Thou know whether we ever returned unsuccessful?
What of the deserts! we did not spare even oceans!
We galloped our horses in the dark ocean.?)

Safah-i dhar se batil ko mitaya hamney

Nau-i insan ko ghulami se churaya hamney
Terey kaabe ko jabeenon sey bassaya hamney
Terey Qur’an ko seeno sey lagaya hamney
Phir Bhi hamsey ye gila hai ke wafadar naheen
Ham wafadar naheen too bhi to dildar naheen

(We effaced falsehood from the earth’s surface

We freed the human race from bonds of slavery
We filled Thy Kaa’ba with our foreheads
We put Thy Qur’an to our hearts
Still Thou complaineth that we are lacking fealty
If we are lacking fealty Thou also art not generous.)

The second part shows the state of decline of Muslim nation. But Iqbal has
projected this aspect so beautifully that instead of creating a sense of despair
and destitute in the mind it inspires a new vigour and courage to stand up and
deal with rival forces. Quoted hereunder are three stanzas of this part:

Ummaten aur bhi hain un men gunahgaar bhi hain

Ijz waley bhi hain mast-i ma-e pindar bhi hain
Inmey kahil bhi hain ghafil bhi hain hushyar bhi hain
Saikron hain ke tirey naam se bezaar bhi hain
Rahmaten hain teri aghyar ke kashanon par
Barq girti hai to becharey musalmanon par

(There are other nations, among them are sinners also

There are modest people and arrogant ones also
Among them are slothful, indolent as well as clever people
There are also hundreds who are disgused with Thy name
Thy graces descend on the other people’s abodes
Lightning strikes only the poor Muslims’ abodes.)

But sanam khanon men kahte hain musalmaan gai

Hai khushi unko ke Kaabey key nigehbaan gai
Manzil-i dhar se unton ke hudi khuwan gai
Apni baghlon men dabba-e huey Qur-an ghai
Khanda zan kufr hai ehsaas tujhe hai ke naheen
ApniTauhid ka kuch paas tujhe hai ke naheen

(The idols in temples say ‘The Muslims are gone’

They are glad that the Ka’bah’s sentinels are gone
From the world’s stage the hudi[2] singers are gone
They, with the Qur’an in their arm pits, are gone.
Infidelity is mocking , hast Thou some feeling or not?
Dost Thou have any regard for Thy own Tawhid or not?)

Bani aghyar ki ab chahne wali dunya

Rahgai apne liye ek khayali dunya
Ham to rukhsat hue auron ney sanbhali dunya
Phir na kahna hui Tauheed se khali dunya
Ham to jeetey hain ke dunya men tera naam rahe
Kaheen mumkin hai ke saaqi na rahey jaam rahe?

(Now the world is the lover of others

For us it is only an imaginary world
We have departed, others have taken over the world
Do not complain now that the world has become devoid of Tawhid
We live with the object of spreading Thy fame in the world
Can the wine cup exist if the cup bearer does not live?)

The third part of Shakwa is a direct complaint to God. Three beautiful stanzas
of this part are quoted as under:
Ye shikayat naheen hain unke khazane maamoor
Naheen mahfil men jinhen baat bhi karne ka shaoor
Qahr to ye hai ke kafir ko milen hoor-o qasoor
Aur becharey musalman ko faqat waida-i hoor
Ab wo altaaf naheen ham pe inaayaat naheen
Baat ye kiya hai ke pheli si madaraat naheen

(We do not complain that their treasures are full

Who are not in possession of even basic social graces
Outrageous that infidel are rewarded with Houries and palaces
And the poor Muslims are placated with only promise of Houries

We have been deprived of the former graces and favours

What is the matter, we are deprived of the former honours.)

Ishq ki khair wo pehli si ada bhi na sahi

Jada paimaiye tasleemo raza bhi na sahi
Muztarib dil sifat-i qiblanuma bhi na sahi
Aur paabandiye aaeen-i wafa bhi na sahi
Kabhi hamse kabhi ghairon se shanasai hai
Baat kahney ki naheen too bhi to harjai hai

(Granted that Love has not the former elegance also

We may have lost treading the path of Love also
We have lost the restless heart like the compass also
And we may have lost the observance of fidelity’s rules also
Thou art changing friendship between us and others
It is difficult to say but Thou art also unfaithful.)

Sarey faraan pey kiya deen ko kamil too ne

Ek isharey pe haszroon kay liye dil toone
Aathish andoz kiya ishq ka hasil toone
Phoonk di garmiye rukhsaar sey mahfil toone
Aaj kiyun seene hmare sharar aabaad naheen
Ham wohee sokhta saamaan hain tujhey yaad naheen?

(Thou perfected the Din on the peak of Faran[3]

Thou captivated the hearts of thousands in a moment
Thou consumed the produce of Love with the fire
Thou burned the congregation with Thy face’s fire
Why are not our breasts filled with love’s sparks now?
We are the same lovers, dost Thou not remember now?)

The fourth part of Shakwa is the ending of this poem. Here we find Iqbal
singing as a nightingale in a garden praying and expressing his sentiments in
the most beautiful and touching manner. Out of these we quote below four
stanzas;

Wadiye najd men wo shor-i salasil na raha,

Qais deewana-i nazzarai mehmil na raha
Hausley wo na rahey ham na rahey dil na raha
Ghar ye ujra hai ke too raunaq-i mahfil na raha
Aye khush aan rooz ke aayee wa basad naaz aayee
Bay hijabana su-i mahfil-i maa baaz aayee

(The noise of lover’s chains in the Najd’s valley has disappeared

Qais has no more remained longing for the litter’s sight
Those old ambitions, we, as well as the heart have disappeared
The house is destroyed as Thou art not present in the house
O that happy day when Thou with elegance will come back
When Thou unveiled to our congregation will come back.)

Mushkilen ummat-i marhoom ki aasaan ka de

Moor-i bey maya ko hamdosh-i Sulaiman ka de
Jins-i nayab-i mohabbat ko phir arzaan karde
Hind key der nasheeno ko musalmaan karde
Joo-i khoon mi chakad az hasrat-i derina-i ma
Mee tapad nala ba nashtarkada-i seena-i ma

(Make easy the difficulties of the blessed Ummah

Place the poor ant shoulder to shoulder to Sulaiman [4]
Make the invaluable produce of Love accessible again
Change the idolatrous Muslims of India into Muslims again
A stream of blood drips from the frustrations mine
Wailing palpitates in  the wounded breast of mine!)

Boo-i gul lay gai bairoon-i chaman raaz-i chaman

Kiya qayaamat hai ke khud phool hain ghammaz-i chaman
Ahd-i gul khatm hua toot gaya saz-i chaman
Ur gai daliyon se zamzama pardaz-i chaman
Ek bulbul hai ke hai mahv-i tarannum abtak
Uske seeney men hai naghmoon ka talatum abtak
(The rose’ fragrance took garden’s secret outside the garden
Outrageous that flowers themselves are informers against the garden
The spring is over, broken is the orchestra of the garden
 Flown away from branches are the songsters of the garden
Only  nightingale is left which is singing  still
In its breast overflows the flood of songs still. [5])

Lutf marney men hai baqi na maza jeeney men

Kuch maza hai to yihee khoon-i jigar peeney men
Kitney betaab hain johar mirey aaeeney men
Kis Qadar jalway taraptey hain mirey seeney men
Is Gulistaan men magar dekhnay waley hi naheen
Daagh jo seene men rakhte hoon wo lalay hi naheen

(There is no pleasure in dying and no taste in living is

If there is any pleasure, it in bearing this affliction is
Many a virtue is restless in my mirror!
Many an effulgence is fluttering in my breast!
But there is none in this garden to see them
There is no poppies[6] with love’s stains in their breasts).

After one year of reciting Shakwa Iqbal presented Jawab-i Shakwa in a huge
gathering in 1913 at a famous public place Outside Mochi Gate of Lahore
City. Jawab-I Shakwa contains 36 stanzas of six lines or verses each. This
thrilling poem in a way was a call from God rather than a reply to Iqbal’s
complaint. It added fire to the already boiling blood of the nation after Iqbal’s
Shakwa, as a result of  the Indian Muslims arose with a new life filled with
enthusiasm, courage and a determination to change their fate. Inspired by
Iqbal’s songs they were united, fought the war of independence and achieved
victory. Once again the Muslims of India were a free nation and masters of
their own destiny living in an independent country called Pakistan, the new
Muslim State appeared on the world map on  the 14th  of. August 1947.

The revelation of Jawab-I Shakwa and its compilation took a long time of
over one year. In this poem a comprehensive reply to Iqbal’s complaint to
Allah is given This poem contains 36 stanzas out of which I have selected
nine stanzas which are quoted hereunder together with their English
translation;
At the outset Allah says,
Ham to mayal ba karam hain koi saail hi naeein
Rah dikhlaeen kisay rahrav-i manzil hi naheen.
Tarbiat aam to hai johar-i qabil hi naheen
Jis say taamir ho adam ke ye wo gil hi naheen
Koi qabil ho to ham shan-i kai detay hain
Dhoodnay walay ko dunya bhi nayi detay hain.

We[7] are inclined to Mercy, but there is no one to implore

Whom can we show the way? There is no wayfarer to the destination
Jewel polishing is common but there is no proper jewel
There is no clay capable of being moulded into Adam
We confer the glory of Kai[8] on the deserving
We confer even a whole new world on those who search.
The following three stanzas are in direct reply to the  three stanzas in the
Complaint (Shakwa):

Wo bhi din thay ke yihi maayai raanaa-i thaa

Naazish-i mausami gul laala-i Sahra-i tha
Jo musalman tha allah ka shaida-i tha
Kabhi mahboob tumhara yihi harjai tha
Kisi yakjai sey ab ahd-i ghulaami karlo
Millat-i Ahmad-i Mursil ko Moqami karlo

(There was a time when this alone was the source of beauty
The wild tulip was the pride of the season of spring
Whichever Muslim there was, the Lover of Got he was
A while ago your beloved this very Unfaithful was
Make the covenant of fealty now with some local one
Make the Ummah of the Holy Prophet a local one.)

Safah-i dahr sey baatil ko mitaya kisne

Nau-i insaan ko ghulami sey churaya kisne
Merey kaabae ko jabeenon sey basaaya kisne
Merey Qur’an ko seenon sey lagaya kisne
Thay to aaba wo tumharay hi magar tum kiya ho
Hath par hath dharay muntazir-i farda ho

(Who effaced false worship from the face of the world?

Who rescued the human race from slavery?
Who adorned my Ka’bah with their foreheads in Love?
Who put my Qur’an to their breasts in reverence?
They were surely your ancestors, but what are you?
Sitting in idleness, waiting for tomorrow are you!)

Kiya kaha bahri musalman hai faqat waadai hoor

Shakwa beja bhi karay koi to laazim hai shaoor
Adl hai faatir-i hasti ka azal sey dastoor
Muslim aaeen hua kfir to milay hoor-o qasoor
Tum men hooron ka koi chahnay wala hi naheen
Jawai toor to maujood hai Moosa hi naheen

(What did you say? For the Muslims is only the promise of Houri
Even  if the Remonstrance be unreasonable decorum is necessary
Justice is the Creator of Existence’ custom since eternity
When the infidel adopts Muslim ways he receives Houris and palaces
Not a single one of you is longing for Houris
The effulgence of Tur exists but there is no Musa. [9])

At the end of Jawab-i Shakwa the Response offers a new hope for Ummah
and also provides the remedy of all diseases of the Muslims. The following
30 verses (five stanzas) are the essence of this poem:

Ummateen gulshan-i hasti men samar cheeda bhi hain

Aur mahroom-i samar bhi hain khizan deeda bhi hain
Sankron Nakhl hain kaheeda bhi’ baleeda bhi hain
Sankron batn-i chaman men abhi poshida bhi hain
Nakhl-i Islam namuna hai bromandi ka
Phal hai ye sankron saddiyun ki chaman bandi ka.

(Some nations in the existence’s garden benefited from their labour are
And some deprived from fruits and even destroyed by autumn are
Hundreds of trees deteriorated and hundreds flourishing are
Hundreds still even concealed in the bosom of the garden are
The tree of Islam a model of flourishing is
This the fruit of cons of gardening efforts is)

Pak hai gard-i watan say sar-i daman tera

Too wo Yusuf hai ke har misr hai kanaan tera
Qafla ho na sakega kabhi veran tera
Ghair yek bang-i dara kuch naheen saman tera
Nakhl-i shamasti-o dar shola dawad resha-i to
Aaqibat soz bawad saya-i andesha-i to
(Your skirt is undefiled by the dust of homeland
You are the Yusuf for whom every Egypt is Kan’an [10]
It will never be possible to destroy your caravan
Nothing except the Clarions’s Call are your chattel
You are a candle like tree, it its flame’s smoke your roots are 
Your thoughts free from the care of the end are.)

Misl-i boo qaid haye ghunche  men pareeshan hoja

Rakht bar dosh hawa-i chmanistaan hoja
Hai tunak maya to zarrey say biyabaan hoja
Naghma-i Mauj say hangaama-i toofaan hoja
Quwwat-i Ishq sey her past koi balaa kardey
Dhr men ism-i Muhammad sey Ujala krdey
(Like fragrance you are contained in the flower bud, become scattered
Become the chattel travelling on the wings of the breeze of the rose garden
If you are poor, changed from speck to the wilderness be
From the melody of wave changed to tumult of the storm be
With the Love’s power elevate every low to elegance
With Muhammad’s name illuminate the whole world.)  

Ho na ye phool to bulbul ka tarannum bhi na ho

Chaman-i dhr men kalyun ka tabassum bhi na ho
Ye na saqi ho to phir mai bhi na ho khum bhi na ho
Bazm-i tawhid bhi dunya bh na ho tum bhi na ho
Khema aflaak ka istada isi naam se hai
Nabz-i hasti taphis aamada isi nam sey hai

(If there is no flower nightingale music should also not be

In the world’s garden smile of flower buds should also not be
If there is no cup bearer, wine and decanter should also not be
Tawhid’s Assembly in the world and you should also not be
The system of the universe is stable by this very name
The existence’ pulse is warm with this very name.)

Aql hai teri sipar ish a shamsheer teri

Merey darvesh khilafat hai jehangir teri
Ma siwallah ke lia aag hai takbeer teri
Too Musalman ho to taqdir hai tadbir teri
Ki Muhammad se wafa toonay to ham teray hain
Ye jahan cheez hai kiya lauho qalam tere hain
(Intellect is your shield, Love is your sword
My dervish!  Your vicegerency  is world-conquering
Your Takbir like fire for Godlessness is
If you are Muslim your prudence your destiny is
If you are loyal to Muhammad we are yours
This universe is nothing the Tablet and the Pen [11] are yours.)
G. Sabir
Copenhagen
11.07.2007

[1] Arabic word Tawhid means Oneness of God.

[2] Hudi are songs which the camel drivers sing when the caravan is
marching.
[3]Din is religion of Islam and Faran is the mountain on which the cave of
Hira is located Here the prophet of Islam received the first revelation from
God.
[4] Sulaiman is the name of one of the great prophets.
[5] Here Allama Iqbal is referring to himself and his songs.
[6]The poppy flower has a black stain at the bottom of its corolla. The poet is
referring this as a mark of Love of God.
[7] The use of two words “We” and “Us” instead of “I” and “Me” denote
Grandeur and Glory of God. These are also used in Qur’an by God Himself.
[8]This is the generic name of one of the ancient pre-Islamic dynasties of pre-
Christian Iran (Persia). Persia was a world power for several pre.Christian
centuries. This dynasty is used as a metaphor for grandeur and power.
[9] Tur is name of mountain where Musa faced the Truth (Eternal Light).
[10]Here Iqbal is referring to the story of Prophet Yusuf in Qur’an’s Sura 12.
In this verse he says the the place of Yusuf’s residence was Kan’an but the
Islam and Muslims are not restricted to boundaries. Wherever they are it is
their homeland. 
[11] LAUH-O-QALAM is combination of  “Lauh” (denotes Lauh-i Mahfuz
and means preserved tablet) and Qalam means pen.  Lauh-o-Qalam exists in
the metaphysical world and they are the implements with which the decrees
of God are recorded and in which they are preserved.